Intelligence Squared U.S. Debuts New Format Debating Trump's First 100 Days on April 24

On Monday, April 24, an all-star panel of journalists and thought-leaders representing a wide spectrum of political views will come together to debate the success of Trump's first 100 days in office: Jamelle Bouie (Slate), Ian Bremmer (Eurasia Group), Kris Kobach (Kansas Secretary of State), Rich Lowry (The National Review), and Jennifer Rubin (Washington Post). This debate will launch a new format for the debate series Intelligence Squared U.S., which continues to experiment and break new ground in its tenth full year of debates.

Rather than having two teams arguing "For" and "Against" a single motion, as in a typical Intelligence Squared U.S. debate, all five debaters will pick a side on four separate motions:

* "America First is a sound policy direction"

* "The stock market is saying Trump is good for the economy"

* "Trump has picked a terrific team"

* "The press IS out to get Trump"

This innovative "Debate Unlocked" format will allow for both sharp disagreements and unexpected alliances between debaters, depending on which motion is currently under discussion. Too often public arguments over Trump between people with entrenched viewpoints devolve into anger, frustration and chaos. This more nuanced and flexible setup helps break the dialogue out of the typical partisan divides, as each debater ties to persuade the audience of their position on all four motions. The audience will vote on each motion both before and after the debate, and at the end of the evening will analyze the voting data to see what arguments made people change their minds.

The debate will be held at NYC's Manhattan Center Studios and stream live online, then air soon after as part of the syndicated public radio show and podcast "Intelligence Squared U.S." On April 24, online viewers can tune in at IQ2US's website (http://bit.ly/Trump100Debate ).

WHAT: Intelligence Squared U.S. Debates "Unresolved: Trump's First 100 Days"

WHEN: Monday, April 24, 2017 / Debate 7:00 -8:45 PM

WHERE: Manhattan Center Studios / 311 West 34th Street / New York, NY

TICKETS: $40. To purchase, visit http://www.intelligencesquaredus.org/

DEBATERS:

* Jamelle Bouie: Chief Political Correspondent, Slate 

Jamelle Bouie is the chief political correspondent for Slate and a political analyst for CBS News, covering campaigns, elections, and national affairs. His work has also appeared in the New Yorker, the Washington Post, The Nation, and other publications. Before Slate, Bouie was a staff writer at The Daily Beast and a writing fellow at The American Prospect magazine. 

* Ian Bremmer: President & Founder, Eurasia Group 

Ian Bremmer is the president and founder of Eurasia Group, the leading global political risk research and consulting firm. He is a prolific thought leader and author, regularly expressing his views on political issues in public speeches, television appearances, and top publications, including Time, where he is the foreign affairs columnist and editor-at-large. Dubbed the “rising guru” in the field of political risk by The Economist, he teaches classes on the discipline as global research professor at New York University. 

* Kris Kobach: Kansas Secretary of State 

Kris W. Kobach is the secretary of state for Kansas and former professor of constitutional law at the University of Missouri, Kansas City. He served as counsel to Attorney General John Ashcroft during the Bush administration, where he led Department of Justice efforts to prevent terrorists from exploiting gaps in U.S. immigration controls. Kobach is well known nationally for his role as co-author of Arizona’s SB 1070 illegal immigration law and has litigated some of the most significant immigration-related cases in the country. He joined the Trump transition team as an unpaid adviser on immigration issues. 

* Rich Lowry: Editor, National Review 

Rich Lowry became editor of National Review in 1998 when selected by William F. Buckley, Jr. to lead the magazine. Today, National Review remains a conservative guidepost, helping to bring to prominence rising conservative leaders and advance conservative policies. He is a FOX News Channel contributor and a syndicated columnist. His insight and analysis can also be found in Politico where he writes a weekly column. 

* Jennifer Rubin: Author, The Washington Post’s “Right Turn” Blog 

Jennifer Rubin writes the “Right Turn” blog for the Washington Post, offering reported opinion from a conservative perspective. She covers a range of domestic and foreign policy issues and provides insight into the conservative movement and the Republican Party. Rubin came to the Post after three years with Commentary magazine. Prior to her career in journalism, she practiced labor law for two decades.

ABOUT INTELLIGENCE SQUARED U.S. DEBATES (IQ2US)

A non-partisan, nonprofit organization, Intelligence Squared U.S. was founded in 2006 to restore civility, reasoned analysis and constructive public discourse to today’s often biased media landscape. The award-winning debate series reaches over 30 million American households through multi-platform distribution, including radio, television, live streaming, podcasts, interactive digital content, and on-demand apps on Roku and Apple TV. With over 130 debates and counting, Intelligence Squared U.S. has encouraged the public to "think twice" on a wide range of provocative topics. Author and ABC News correspondent John Donvan has moderated IQ2US since 2008.